Don't have an account?

Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Cubs pitcher deserved an ovation - in Boston

Jake Arrieta

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta tips his cap as he gets a standing ovation from Red Sox fans after carrying a no-hitter to the eighth inning at Fenway Park Monday Stephen Drew broke up his bid with a two-out single.
(Charles Krupa)

BOSTON - In the world of silly and needless controversies, this one qualifies.

On Monday night, Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta came within four outs of throwing the first no-hitter by a visiting pitcher at Fenway Park since 1958. Stephen Drew broke it up in the eighth, after which Arrieta left to a standing ovation.

End of story. Or was it?

The merits of applauding the work of the enemy was a subject of debate among Boston media Tuesday. Radio host tony Massarotti screamed his dismay, bellowing that "the Red Sox fan base has been neutered!''

Mazz is a friend from the days we both covered the UMass basketball team. John Calipari was the coach, and it wasn't always easy to get someone's attention over the hysteria.

Maybe that's when Mazz developed his habit of conducting normal conversation at the top of his lungs. But that doesn't make him right on this one.

More full disclosure: I grew up as a Cubs fan. That was a long time ago, though I still think it's better for baseball when the Cubbies don't stink.

That's not why I think the ovation for Arrieta was not only appropriate, but commendable. I would feel the same way with any other team - yes, even the one in pinstripes.

I don't blame some fans for not going that far. But not only was Arrieta not a Yankee, he wasn't even an American Leaguer.

We won't see him again. The guy nearly made history.

Most of the fans on hand will never see a no-hitter, but they nearly saw one here. If I'm shelling out a few hundred bucks for a night at the park, I'm rooting for history.

The ovation came after he had thrown his last pitch. There are still those who think it's somehow disloyal to give credit to a great effort by the guy in the other uniform.

As if booing him off the mound would have somehow inspired the Red Sox to come alive and win the game.

Fenway had an overload of Cubs fans on Monday, but the Red Sox faithful were applauding, too. O, the sportmanship! How can we bear to stand it?

Give me a break.

As for the folks who cringe at the audacity of such displays, I can't wait for Derek Jeter to make his last Fenway appearance in September. How do they suggest we react to that - with 38,000 sets of middle fingers raised in the air?

How do the critics feel after each Stanley Cup playoff series? Is the handshake line a tradition or a travesty?

And yes, it is the same thing.

It's just my own choice, but if I'm in the ballpark and someone takes a no-hitter into the seventh, I'm rooting to see it happen. There will always be a tomorrow for the home team, but seeing something rare is always special.

Yu Darvish and Arrieta each flirted with no-hitters against Boston this year. I have no problem in giving them their moment of history, and hoping the Red Sox saved their hits for the game the next day.

I certainly have no problem with the home fans saluting a visitor like Arrieta after his bid has ended. That's not disloyalty, and it doesn't mean a lack of passion.

It means a dose of sanity and a moment of sportsmanship in what is still a sport.

Other might think anger and hostility are the mark of the true fan. I don't buy it. There is no harm and much good in giving recognition to a great effort.

We might as well get used to it. The way the Red Sox have been hitting, their fans might be facing the same choice again soon.